RHP Zack Wheeler (2-1, 4.29) vs RHP Matt Cain (5-5, 4.85)

Starting Lineup

Game Notes

Marlon Byrd now has seven career grand slams. His first since 2009 gave the New York Mets their margin of victory. Byrd’s eighth-inning slam gave the Mets a five-run lead en route to a 10-6 win against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night at AT&T Park. Byrd now has 14 homers this season, tied with John Buck for the team lead.

Mets right-hander Shaun Marcum will undergo season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome Monday. He experienced numbness in his right hand Saturday night in a start against Milwaukee. “The two courses of treatment would be conservative — which would be rehab — or surgery,” assistant general manager John Ricco said. “And Shaun has opted to have the surgery. And that is the recommendation of our doctors as well.”

Carlos Torres is the now the starting pitcher to replace Marcum for the New York Mets, although he still had some relief work left to complete before switching roles. Torres worked two innings for the second straight day Tuesday night. He surrendered only his second run in 17 2/3 innings since a call-up from Triple-A Las Vegas, where he served as a starting pitcher.

Zack Wheeler threw a bullpen session at AT&T Park on Monday afternoon and then spent 20 minutes running sprints on the warning track. He covered the same route that Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner often take as they’re preparing for starts. When he was selected sixth overall in the 2009 draft, Wheeler seemed destined to join Cain and Bumgarner at the top of the Giants rotation. But seeking a repeat championship and an impact hitter, the Giants shipped Wheeler to New York in 2011 in a deal that brought Carlos Beltran to San Francisco.

It’s a deal that general manager Brian Sabean does not regret. All the same, Wheeler wouldn’t mind sticking it to his old team when he takes the mound for the Mets on Wednesday. “I definitely want to go out there and do well for myself, and maybe show them what they could have had, I guess,” Wheeler said, smiling. “It’ll definitely be fun.”

Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright has hit Cain hard in his 27 career plate appearances against the right-hander. He is batting .458 with a .519 on-base percentage and six doubles.

In their last 17 games, the Giants are batting .128 with runners in scoring position, including a current stretch of 6-for-64.

The Mets are considering skipping Matt Harvey’s final first-half start to (1) allow a blister to heal, (2) start curtailing his innings so he can complete the season without hitting a cap and (3) give him ample rest to start for the NL All-Star team.

On the season, the Mets are 22-21 away from Citi Field, the third-best mark in the NL. In their last 10 road series, including the current one, they’ve gone 7-1-2.

Center fielder Matt den Dekker is off to a slow start since recovering from a fractured right wrist and moving to Las Vegas. Den Dekker is 3-for-32 with five walks and 11 strikeouts in nine games since joining the 51s.

Game Preview

The Mets conclude their three game series with the Giants this afternoon as they look for the sweep! In the first game of the series, the Orange and Blue went 16 innings deep to take the W. Last night, Byrd was not having any of that extra-inning shenanigans and busted out a grand slam. Today Zack Wheeler gets the nod as he goes up against Matt Cain.

Wheeler is coming off of a better start where he pitched 5.0 innings allowing 3 runs, only one earned over 7 hits while walking three and striking out 3. He is now 2-1 over 21.0 innings of work and 4 games with a 4.29 ERA walking 13 batters and striking out 16. This will be his first time facing the Giants and facing any on the Giants in a Major League game.

The Mets draw Matt Cain who has a 4.85 ERA on the season with a 5-5 record over 18 games and 111.1 innings. Cain was 1-2 in the month of June making 6 starts with a 3.10 ERA. His first start in July, his last start, was awful as he allowed 8 ER over 2.1 innings. Last year he faced the Mets once allowing 2 ER over 5 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Matt:

My name is Elliot and I’ve been writing the Game Preview posts at MMO since 2008. I am excited to be back sharing my thoughts with you. When I’m not watching the Mets, I’m a Physics Teacher in Newark, NJ and writing about the Mets at 213 Miles From Shea. LGM! You can follow me on twitter @213mfs